The world of watersports relies on inflatable toys which hold their shape when inflated to a certain amount of pressure. Kites used for kitesurfing, for example, require in excess of 11 PSI to obtain the required rigidity of the flying wing on such kite. This pressure may be achieved using a generic hand pump such as a bicycle tire pump, however such pumps operate in an inefficient manner given the high number of strokes required for full inflation.
Two-stage electric inflator/compressors may also be used for inflation of inflatable toys. These units typically use an electric impeller element to inflate to a predetermined particular volume and then use a separate compressor element to fully pressurize the object being inflated. Such units require a large heavy power source for the compressor element and are thus not as portable as hand pumps. Additionally, the need for two different inflation elements makes the two-stage unit costly and limits the life expectancy of such units, especially when such units are used in a sandy, salty and wet environment. Finally, such units are limited by the capacity of the power source, with no back-up ability for inflation when the power source runs out of energy.
Accordingly, a need exists in the art for an improved air pump that overcomes the aforementioned problems.